cruz chic

We've always had wonderful tablemates and have never felt "stuck" at dinner. It has only been at the open breakfast and lunch seatings we've felt "stuck" with less than desirable tablemates. Who knows, if we'd had more meals with them we could have liked them.

 

I find the same thing. The people that I have met during open seating at breakfast and lunch a lot of times have been strange to very rude. Maybe I just haven't been lucky. I've heard stories about gory pet operations, pet barfing stories and have also been insulted. Don't recall a situation like that happening very often with fixed dinner seating.

I am surprised this far out that you can not get waitlisted on the early 5:45 seating. I have not yet experienced AYWD, but will on the Volendam this month. From the reports back so far, and they are limited, on actual AYWD experiences most people who were waitlisted for traditional got their desire once they boarded. HAL has been adjusting the proportion of passengers on each cruise who want traditional or AYWD to accommodate as many as they can. However, my understanding is that if you are not waitlisted on the particular seating you want, you will not get it, even after adjusting the Traditional and AYWD proportions for that cruise.

 

Maybe your TA thought you wanted to be waitlisted for the old 6:15 seating in the lower DR which is no longer available and has been replaced with the AYWD. I would think that this far out you should have been able to get waitlisted on the 5:45 seating. If you’re TA can not get you waitlisted try calling HAL customer service and see what they can do for you make it sound like you will reconsider cruising with them if you can not at least get waitlisted for the early seating. My wife and I prefer the AYWD option and are looking forward to the cruise this month. You do get all the excitement of the formal evenings with AYWD.

 

I agree. Ask them to put you on the 5:45 waitlist. Your cruise is pretty far out and I imagine you will get it from what has been discussed on this thread.

 

I was on the Ryndam when AYWD went into place in Oct.07 and people were as dressed up as usual on a formal night. I wonder myself as time goes by if that will change.

It's totally the tone!

Disagreement is both expected and is actually welcomed. However, one can disagree agreeably, without name-calling, group-labeling, and judgments being issued as to individual's "openness." There are others with whom I disagree on many issues but with whom I can disagree agreeably. Kyros, for instance. I like formal nights, she doesn't, and yet we to get along quite well. We disagree ... but we do so agreeably. Some people seem to have trouble with that concept.

 

 

 

Correct. And when the other posters ALSO lack first-hand experience of the issue or product in-question -- as you do of ALL things HAL -- it's no small wonder that there are hurt feelings and people who become gun-shy about posting at all.

 

 

 

Granted. Please note that my principle issue has long-been almost exclusively relative to how the implementation of AYWD will impact Solo cruisers. And, yet, several rather vicious things have been said about solo-cruisers who also have reasonable concerns regarding how things are going to shake out.

 

Likewise, to the extent that serious questions regarding the wait-listing issue impacted everyone, those concerns were VALID concerns even though those people had not yet cruise AYWD. It took MUCH hashing out of the issue, plus information from HAL Seattle, to settle the issue -- to the extent it has been settled -- but had we not expressed our concerns on this board that might not have happened and many of us might well have still been in the dark.

 

In other words, the qualifications for posting an opinion or asking a question or expressing a concern are NOT limited to only those who have had HAL AYWD experience.

 

 

 

As an erudite poster once wrote: "whenever you post an opinion, about anything, in any venue, you are taking on the risk that someone will disagree with you." In short ... it comes with the territory.

 

 

 

Look, Spock, it's not always what one writes, but the way of the writing that hits people the wrong way. Your post (#1005) was patently dismissive of the negative posts. You classed them all in one bunch, and then casually dismissed them. In reality, a large percentage of the negative posts on this thread dealt with concerns over how AYWD would be implemented, wether or not those being wait-listed would be able to get the dining schedule of their choice, the mixed messages HAL-Seattle was telegraphing to us through Travel Agents and Ship's Service, and the like. Once the details were sketched out for us in a consistent manner, a comparatively few people expressed a knee-jerk reaction in general opposition; most discomfort and concern had to do with reasonable issues that were not being adequately answered at the time. For you to just casually dismiss them because "people complain an order of magnitude more than they praise" was not only unfair to many of those who posted on this thread, but in my opinion it was also quite unnecessary.

 

 

 

And, again, thanks ... I will. For one thing, I won't be worrying about threads like this one.

 

Revneal I always enjoy reading your posts. You are awesome! Thank you for being one of the kindest and most reasonable people on this board.

[quote name='Dena']Terry, this is my interpretation as well.

Earlier I posted an easy and fair solution and I think the solos should strongly encourage HAL to implement it. It is my understanding that solo travelers pay a "single supplement." Anyone paying a single supplement should be given the dining option of his choice. Period. HAL could make this happen.

For years Princess has operated both Anytime and fixed seating, so HAL should be able to do so as well. It is unlikely that HAL will get rid of fixed seating before Princess does. So, since fixed seating does exist, why not
confirm it for the solo travelers? This waitlist stuff is nonsense so far in advance of the cruise.[/quote]

I love your idea about singles getting their choice in dining because we pay the single supplement. There can't be that many of us but maybe I'm dreaming. Hello HAL are you listening! I bet their answer would be that many people would book single supp just to get their choice. I doubt that.

Someone had suggested that if we meet a group we click with just ask if I could join them for the week. IMO this is so needy. I think I'm a pretty outgoing person but I don't want to put people on the spot like that.

I've heard Princess is eliminating early traditional dining although I don't know if this is true. I hope this isn't the case as I may go back to Princess if I can't get my choice with hal. Booking well over a year in advance to get traditional early dining really sucks.

[quote name='NHBob']And we said or even implied this where? This is the most convoluted reasoning I have seen in a long time!

Bob[/quote]

You are correct Bob.....I don't recall anyone who wants traditional saying they want AYW dining gone. It seems more like the people who want the AYW dining don't want the traditional to carry on and are always trying to get people to convert to this by calling them old and afraid of change.

AND RIGHTLY SO!

 

Waitstaff 'downtime' must be given and, I'd assume, is predicated on 'guest' preference. Somewhere along the line 'guests' have to make up their minds - most things these days are not on a 'test and try before you buy' basis.

 

At home most people have a preferred 'dinner time' and specify at time of booking whatever is closest to it, be it early or late.

 

'Stuff' does happen on port days - you stay ashore longer than expected - so what! - there's always the Lido or room service....for sure you'll not starve!

 

It's like dining in the Pinnacle or (very infrequently!) being invited to 'dine with the Captain' - we make a point of telling our table companions and Steward that we'll be 'absent' tomorrow night or whatever - to us it is the polite thing to do.

 

Again I say AND RIGHTLY SO!

 

I agree 100%. You can't be deciding one day to do one thing...the next something else. It is not right to hold a table up in traditional and then go to anytime. I know people have mentioned that it is a problem on Princess. It is printed right on your cruise card which type of dining you have traditional or anytime. I've been asked to show my card so I wonder why it would be a problem. Sound like it should be a no brainer to me.

I have booked (this year) with a US based agency (7blueseas) and have been happy on all counts! Despite our ($C) increased value, it has been profitable to do so because predetermined rates by cruiselines are greater than the per diem rate of our banks. I have had no problem, in this regard.

 

That's great info Ladysmith. Thank you. This board is a great learning resource.

Great news about your economy.

 

Too bad this agent did not invest the 15 minutes in learning about the product she is trying to sell, instead of arguing with you.

 

Is there a reason why Canadians cannot book with U.S. travel agencies or vice-versa?

 

I'm not sure if Canadians can book through a US agency or not. Because I've had several problems with several agents I am reluctant to go to any agency that I can not see face to face if I had issues. On one of my cruises someone told me they had an awesome agent in the US and I should try her. I tried several times to contact this person and emails were not returned. If she was treating me like that before I've dealt with her what would it be like after.

 

I wish our economy would cool down because it is not pleasent to live here. Someone on the board was talking about the good old days. I long for those days but they are gone forever.

The travel agent's job description is to counsel passengers and sell cruises. I think it is incumbent upon the travel agent to know their product, read the press releases, frequent the message boards, visit the web sites and cultivate relationships, within the cruise lines. We are talking about an investment of an hour +/- a week, into their own product knowledge.

 

Instead, the majority of travel agents are passive, often part timers, who have never cruised, who clerk the booking.

 

The easiest thing for a travel agent to do is blame the cruise line, any cruise line, for what they do not know. AYW is not a secret. If we know, the travel agent should know. It's hogwash for a travel agent to whine

" no one spoon fed me the information".

 

 

We consumers love to talk about the lack of customer service/ product knowledge. And yet we allow it to happen again and again. Not knowing about something like AYW is the basis for termination of the agency relationship, in my book.

 

I agree. The problem in Calgary where I live jobs are plentiful and to say the economy is booming would be a huge understatement. The fact that my agent argued with me for 15 min. and also told me I'm confused about AYW dining shows how little they really know. Why would I go to such an agent you ask. She's the best of a bad bunch!

I think HAL has made a mess of this AYW dining as well. One thing I forgot to mention in my posts was that my travel agent didn't know that HAL was going to anytime dining. She argued with me on the phone for 15 minutes saying that I was confused with other lines. Pretty bad that HAL has not made this clear to people.

I've got a cruise booked for Nov. 08 and I was worried about getting traditional. It was looking like the traditional was starting to fill up so I wanted to get it and I booked in July 07. This is so riduculous as I did not want to book so far ahead. I cruise solo so I am am not interested in AYW dining. It's an expensive cruise and I would rather not tie up the money that soon for something that is so far in advance.

I'll be on the Ryndam next month (Oct.) when AYW dining starts. I've selected traditional because I am a solo cruiser so I'll be interested to see how things go.